Clobazam News

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 1, 2017 – Is that sleeping pill you took last night making it tougher for you to drive in the daytime? What about a heart medication? Or a new antidepressant? New research shows that many people taking prescription drugs aren't aware that their meds could impair their ability to drive. "Most are aware of the potential dangerous side effects of sedatives and narcotics, but other medications – such as some antihistamines, some antidepressants, some blood pressure medications, muscle relaxants and even stimulants – may affect driving ability," noted Dr. Alan Mensch, who reviewed the study findings. The findings have both medical and legal implications, added Mensch, who's medical director at Plainview Hospital in New York. "Not commonly appreciated is that a DUI (driving under the influence) charge may not only involve alcohol or illegal substances. Drivers can also be ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 4, 2017 – More Americans are having trouble getting a good night's sleep, a national health survey found. And the number of people who use prescription sleeping pills in the quest for shuteye continues to increase – currently about 4 percent of Americans, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But are they safe? And are they even effective? Results of studies done on the health hazards of sleeping pills vary widely, from one that found barely any elevated risk to another that found the risk of death for users is three times higher than it is for people who don't take them. Research published in the American Journal of Public Health confirms that fatal overdoses are a concern. There are also possible side effects and dependency problems to consider. Plus, according to Consumer Reports, over the long term, sleeping pills might not even bring ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 27, 2017 – One-third of older Americans take something to help them sleep, but most don't discuss their sleep problems with a doctor, a new survey finds. "Although sleep problems can happen at any age and for many reasons, they can't be cured by taking a pill, either prescription, over-the-counter or herbal, no matter what the ads on TV say," said poll director Dr. Preeti Malani, a geriatric medicine specialist at the University of Michigan. The survey included over 1,000 respondents, aged 65 to 80. Half incorrectly believed that sleep problems are just a natural part of aging, according to the National Poll on Health Aging. Prescription, over-the-counter and so-called natural sleep aids carry health risks, especially for older adults, and national guidelines warn against the use of prescription sleep medicines by people older than 65. But the survey found that 8 ... Read more

FRIDAY, Aug. 11, 2017 – Scientists experimenting with the marijuana compound cannabidiol as an epilepsy treatment must evaluate any interactions with other anti-seizure drugs patients are taking, researchers report. The new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggests cannabidiol affects blood levels of several anti-seizure drugs, especially clobazam. Cannabidiol (CBD) has shown promise as a potential anti-seizure compound in animal and human studies, the Alabama researchers said. They are testing it as a therapy for difficult-to-control epilepsy in 39 adults and 42 children. Other drugs that the participants are taking include clobazam (Onfi), topiramate (Topamax), rufinamide (Banzel), zonisamide (Zonegran), valproate (Depakote) and eslicarbazepine. Blood levels of some of the drugs changed significantly, but except for clobazam, they did not deviate from the ... Read more

THURSDAY, Aug. 10, 2017 – More Americans than ever are living with epilepsy, federal health officials reported Thursday. According to the new report, 1.2 percent of the population – about 3 million adults and 470,000 children – were being treated for epilepsy or had experienced recent seizures in 2015, the researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The number of adults with active epilepsy rose from 2.3 million in 2010. Epilepsy among children rose by 20,000 between 2007 and 2015, according to the report's coauthor, Rosemarie Kobau, the head of the CDC's epilepsy program. "The increase is probably because of population growth," Kobau said. "We don't know if other factors are involved." The report, published Aug. 11 in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, offers epilepsy estimates for every state for the first time, which shows the condition ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2, 2017 – Physicians might be relying too heavily on "off-label" use of epilepsy drugs as an alternative to prescribing narcotic painkillers, two experts in internal medicine contend. Doctors are prescribing the anti-seizure drugs gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica) to treat pain more frequently, partly in response to the opioid epidemic in the United States, said Dr. Allan Brett. He's a professor of clinical internal medicine with the University of South Carolina School of Medicine in Columbia. However, the drugs might not be doing any good for many people suffering from chronic pain, Brett said. That's because the medications are only FDA-approved to treat certain types of pain. Yet, "increasing numbers of patients [are] being prescribed either of these drugs for any kind of pain symptoms," he said. Brett and co-author Dr. Christopher Goodman, an assistant ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 2, 2017 – More U.S. babies go through drug withdrawal after birth these days, and researchers say doctors' prescribing practices are partly to blame. Moms-to-be who take prescription opioid painkillers plus psychiatric drugs for depression or anxiety have a 30 to 60 percent greater risk of giving birth to an infant in withdrawal than those taking opioids alone, researchers found. Moreover, use of two or more psychiatric drugs in addition to opioids was associated with a twofold increased risk of infant withdrawal, said lead researcher Krista Huybrechts. She's an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. In particular, antidepressants, benzodiazepines such as diazepam (Valium) and the seizure drug gabapentin (Neurontin) greatly increase the risk and severity of drug withdrawal symptoms in newborns when used with prescription opioids during pregnancy, ... Read more

MONDAY, July 31, 2017 – A new study supports routine genetic testing for epilepsy in young children with seizures. "Precision medicine means nothing without precision diagnosis, and we can now provide precision diagnosis," said study lead author Anne Berg, of the Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. "Genetic testing should be incorporated into the routine initial evaluation of young children with epilepsy," Berg said in a hospital news release. The sooner a precision diagnosis can be made, the sooner a child can start treatment, she said. "Identifying the precise cause of a child's epilepsy as soon as possible would help us choose the most effective treatment to control seizures early on, which is important for healthier brain development," Berg added. The study included information on 775 children across the United States who developed ... Read more

WEDNESDAY, June 28, 2017 – In 2015, America's opioid epidemic took the lives of more than 33,000 people, but three simple steps might cut that number by about a third, a new study suggests. Those steps include: Not prescribing narcotic pain medicines or anti-anxiety drugs to people who are addicted to opioids; Counseling; Seeing a doctor every three months. "People with opioid use disorders die at greater rates than people in the general population, by as much as 20 times higher, so finding ways to lower the risk of death is very important," said lead researcher Dr. Katherine Watkins. She's a senior physician policy researcher at the Rand Corporation, an U.S. nonprofit research organization. Doctors can help lower the risk of dying whether or not these patients are being treated for their addiction, she said. Watkins didn't know how often these three interventions are done in general ... Read more

FRIDAY, June 9, 2017 – If your bed partner routinely struggles to fall asleep, you probably have some well-meaning advice. But it may be best to keep it to yourself. Australian sleep specialists found that when a loved one had insomnia, the partner's suggested solutions – including watching TV or going to bed earlier – often backfired. "It is possible that partners are unwittingly perpetuating insomnia symptoms in the patient with insomnia," said study author Alix Mellor. Mellor, a postdoctoral research fellow, is coordinator of the Researching Effective Sleep Treatments (REST) project at Monash University in Victoria. People with insomnia have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, which can lead to daytime fatigue and irritability. Mellor's team's surveyed 31 partners of insomnia patients who were seeking treatment for their sleep problem. Roughly three-quarters said they ... Read more

TUESDAY, May 2, 2017 – Falls and resulting hip fractures can prove disabling and even fatal for seniors. And new research suggests the risk of hip fractures rises soon after an older person is prescribed a sleeping pill. Specifically, older people are at greater risk for hip fractures for two weeks after they start taking prescription sleeping pills. Those pills include benzodiazepines such as Valium or Ativan, and newer "Z-drug" alternatives such as Ambien, Sonata or Lunesta. Even though Z-drugs are often prescribed to help people sleep, "there is no evidence that they are a safer alternative to benzodiazepines in relation to hip fracture risk," said study lead author Dr. Ben Carter, of Cardiff University's School of Medicine and the Institute of Psychiatry, in the United Kingdom. "Our study shows that both appear to significantly increase the risk of hip fracture when newly ... Read more

TUESDAY, April 25, 2017 – In rare cases, seizures that cause convulsions and a loss of consciousness can raise the odds of sudden death in people with epilepsy, neurologists warn. These attacks are known as generalized tonic-clonic seizures, according to a new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) and the American Epilepsy Society. Just how rare is sudden death linked to these seizures? According to guideline researchers, these tragedies occur in 1 in 1,000 men and women each year and only 1 in 4,500 children annually. Still, although rare, it's crucial that the possibility of sudden death linked to seizures and risk factors for these events "are communicated to persons and families affected by epilepsy," said guideline author Dr. Cynthia Harden. She's with Mount Sinai Health System in New York City. "Our guideline brings clarity to the discussion, giving health care ... Read more

SUNDAY, Feb. 26, 2017 – This will come as no surprise to mothers, but a new survey finds that women with children living at home are more likely to be sleep-deprived than women without children. However, the presence of children in the home did nothing to alter men's sleep patterns. The researchers also found that women with children reported feeling tired more days a month than their child-free counterparts. "Forty-eight percent of women with children reported at least seven hours of sleep, compared to 62 percent of women without children," said study leader Kelly Sullivan. She's an assistant professor of epidemiology at the Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health at Georgia Southern University. Sullivan and her colleagues analyzed data from a nationwide telephone survey of more than 5,800 men and women. The respondents reported how long they slept each night, with seven to nine hours ... Read more

-- Your sleep schedule doesn't have to be determined by family, work and social commitments. You can figure out optimal bed and wake times that afford the best, most restful sleep. The National Sleep Foundation suggests: Figure out what time you need to wake up each morning, and count backwards to figure out when you should head to bed. Seven-to-nine hours of sleep is optimal. Consider your circadian rhythm. Figure out whether you tend to be most alert in the morning or at night, so you can adjust your sleep schedule to your body's needs. An ideal bedtime for most people is between 8 p.m. and 12 a.m. Adjust your bedtime based on whether you're waking up before your alarm in the morning, or struggling to fall asleep within 20 minutes. Stick to the same sleep schedule on weekends. Read more

THURSDAY, Feb. 9, 2017 – Ever noticed that when you try to "do it all," the one thing you can count on is getting sick? Now, a new study suggests why: if you don't get enough sleep, your immune system seems to suffer. The finding comes from a study of 11 pairs of twin adults. Each pair of twins had significantly different sleeping routines. The researchers found that the twin who regularly slept less also turned out to be the one with the less potent immune system. "This is the first study to show suppressed immune gene expression in chronic sleep deprivation," said study lead author Dr. Nathaniel Watson. He's a professor of neurology at the University of Washington Medicine Sleep Center in Seattle. That, added Watson, could explain why prior research has shown that "if you expose a sleep-deprived person to a rhinovirus they are more likely to get the common cold than a person who has ... Read more